In line with inflation, today benefits are being uprated by 6.7 per cent. For the first time in four years, the local housing allowance has gone up, improving housing support for many private renters. But one group will not see any improvement in support at all: around 77,000 families are affected by the ‘benefit cap'.
A change is coming to child benefit. This Saturday, more families will become eligible as the earnings threshold at which you start losing child benefit increases. The government has finally recognised that ‘the way we treat child benefit in the tax system is confusing and unfair’ and proposed two changes to try to simplify it. It’s ironic that this confusion and unfairness was introduced by the government in the first place.
South Lanarkshire Council’s Cost of the School Day Conference took place this week, where the local authority further cemented its commitment to equity by launching its Cost of the School Day guidance, and ten proposals.
Today’s official poverty statistics show child poverty has reached a record high with an estimated 100,000 more children pulled into poverty last year.
Poverty means kids going without things they need. Children are arriving at school hungry and unable to concentrate. They are returning to cold homes. And they are missing out on everyday experiences that make up childhood, like school trips, going to birthday parties and having friends round for tea.
On Thursday 21 March, the annual Households Below Average Income (HBAI) report will be released by the Department for Work and Pensions. Estimates are provided for average incomes, income inequality, and for the number and percentage of people living in poverty. The statistics are the UK’s official source of poverty estimates and, with a larger sample size than other surveys, are the main source of data on household and individual incomes.
There was very little in this Budget for children and families living in poverty. The Chancellor said yesterday that this government does not pass on its bills to the next generation, but the 4.2 million children living in poverty today are the next generation. Child poverty is scarring, and the decisions taken yesterday will leave a legacy of cold homes, empty tummies and crumbling classrooms. We are in urgent need of a plan to tackle child poverty.
For almost fifteen years, the four million kids from poor families have been at the bottom of the pile and today is no different. This was a Budget all but blind to buckling family budgets and broken public services and will leave a legacy of crumbling classrooms, cold homes, and empty tummies.
Court of Appeal upholds decision that universal credit payments can be backdated on revision, but claimants risk still being thwarted by DWP IT design flaws and those subject to managed migration face ‘double whammy’ loss of transitional protections and backdated payments.
Managed migration to universal credit is about to expand to DWP legacy benefit claimants. The stakes are high, and we're calling for the DWP to slow down and put more safeguards in place.
CPAG is calling on the government to extend its new timescales for moving people from older benefits to universal credit to prevent vulnerable claimants from falling through the cracks.
Our pre-Budget briefing details how best to invest financial support in children to reduce child poverty and give every child the chance to fulfil their potential.
